Tesla made more cars in the first quarter of 2020 than it has in any other Q1. Honda will use GM’s electric-vehicle foundation for future EVs. Lordstown Motors teases the toughness of its in-wheel motors. Toyota and BYD partner on R&D. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
GM and Honda are adding more to their ongoing partnership. Honda will get two electric vehicles using GM’s Ultium propulsion and battery system, set to go on sale in 2024. Honda also gets access to GM’s Super Cruise driver-assistance technology.
Tesla had its best first quarter yet. The electric automaker made nearly 103,000 vehicles from January through March. That includes “record levels of production” at its Shanghai plant, combined with production from Fremont, which stopped production March 23.
Toyota and BYD are teaming up for electric vehicle research and development in China. The partnership is one of several that Toyota has made for electric vehicles in the past couple of years (CATL, Panasonic, and Subaru, among others), and it could potentially lead to technology-sharing for other world regions.
Lordstown Motors has again teased the in-wheel motors of its upcoming fully electric pickup, to be built in Ohio. The company says it’s continuing to move this model toward production—it still claims this year—but delays due to the current situation might be forthcoming.
And Audi has a plan that includes standalone electric models, while its traditional sedan and SUV models carry on in gasoline and plug-in hybrid form. A new report suggests that Audi has decided to keep to that plan even later in the decade, and not to make a battery-electric version of its A8 flagship—although the Audi E-Tron GT and other sedans remain on the way.
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